In this politically correct world in which we now live, we can no longer call people out for certain behaviors because they might be part of a protected class. If we say anything that might be construed as offensive to a member of a protected class, we are labeled as racist, as a bigot, or simply an asshole.

There is this guy on the train that takes the same train as I do every morning. It is always a packed train, and everyone knows where to stand on the platform so that it lines up perfectly to where the train door opens when it stops. In order to stand at that prime spot, you have to get there well in advance of the time when the train is due to arrive. For the most part, people are relatively decent and do not really try to jump the line to get to the front. This guy, however, straggles in right when the train arrives, but forcibly uses his massive size to cut in front of everyone and push people so that he can board the train first and find a seat. And because of his enormous girth, he takes up two seats. He has no regard for the frail, elderly, or children, and his only goal is to make sure he is first on the train so that he can always find a seat.

Now, this is New York City. This is a city where most people do not hold their tongue and when someone commits an offense, they are called out on it. If this guy was a skinny Caucasian male, the whole train would have been in an uproar over his lack of train etiquette. But because he is fat and Muslim, no one says a word. No one wants to say anything to him about his disgusting behavior because to do so might cause others to deem you to be prejudiced and a bigot. No one wants to say what they are really thinking: that he is a fat pig who uses his size as an excuse to be an asshole. Just to be clear, I do not call him a pig because he is fat. I call him a pig because of his uncouth manners.

Fortunately for him, he has not yet pushed me. I have only been a witness to his appalling actions. But if he does ever push me, I will most definitely say something to him. I am not going to sit back and watch him get away with being an asshole just to spare his feelings.

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"It was a pleasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water-proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write. ” ~ Ernest Hemingway

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